Diabetes News December 18th 2009

NICE and Diabetes
A summary of relevant guidelines (NHS, UK)

Factors Predicting Glycemic Control in Middle-Aged and Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes
Our findings provide support for current diabetes guidelines that recommend a lifestyle regimen across the entire span of diabetes care and highlight the need to help both sociodemographically and clinically disadvantaged middle-aged adults with type 2 diabetes (CDC)

Inverse association between insulin resistance and gait speed in nondiabetic older men
Results from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2002 (BMC Geriatrics)

Dietary Management In Geriatric Patients Of Diabetes Mellitus: Special Considerations
The dietician and doctor face a daunting task, but good communication between them and the patient can make this difficult task possible. This article discusses strategies to achieve this (The Internet Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology)

Geriatric Diabetology: An Overview
Though geriatric diabetes is developing as a sub-specialty in certain countries, most endocrinologists have ignored this important subset of patients (The Internet Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology)

Hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetic pregnancy: the role of pre-conception insulin aspart treatment in a randomized study
These data suggest that initiation of insulin analog treatment pre-conception rather than during early pregnancy may result in a lower risk of severe hypoglycemia in women with type 1 diabetes (Diabetes Care)

IDF to launch new initiative to promote translational research and twinning
On January 15 2010, the International Diabetes Federation will launch D-START (Diabetes, Supporting TrAnslational Research and Twinning), an initiative that aims to support the development of innovative projects in low and middle- income countries ( International Diabetes Federation)

End in sight for new treatment for diabetic eye disease
Lucentis (also known as ranibizumab injection), is a drug currently used in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Its manufacturer, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, has now submitted the drug for approval in the treatment of diabetic macular oedema (JDRF)

deCODE Discovers a Major Risk Factor for Type 2 Diabetes Dependent on Parent of Origin
A Single SNP That Confers Increased Risk if Inherited From the Father, but is Protective if Inherited From the Mother (PharmaLive)

Comorbidity Affects the Relationship Between Glycemic Control and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Diabetes
Patients with the high levels of comorbidity common in type 2 diabetes may receive diminished cardiovascular benefit from intensive blood glucose control (Annals of Internal Medicine)

Effect of insulin on whole body protein metabolism in children with type 1 diabetes
In children with T1D the anticatabolic effects of insulin on whole body protein metabolism are mainly exerted through a reduction in rates at which body proteins are degraded – Abstract (Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care)

The renal vascular response to diabetes
New evidence has expanded our appreciation of the complexity of events that promote preglomerular vasodilation during the early stage of diabetes; however, it seems that the more we know, the less we understand (Current Opinion in Nephrology and Hypertension)

American warrior severely injured in Afghanistan receives historic islet cell transplant
It was the first time the transplant was done via Telemedicine assisted live communication between Dr. Camillo Ricordi and the WRAMC team in the operating room (Diabetes Research Institute)

Amgen, Array BioPharma Enter Development Agreement
Amgen will receive exclusive worldwide rights to Array’s small-molecule glucokinase activator program, aimed at developing drugs that help the body produce more insulin (The Street)

Diamyd® vaccine approved for studies in children down to 3 years of age in the US
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the experimental use of Diamyd® vaccine in children as young as 3 years of age in the TrialNet GAD study, enrolling 126 new onset type 1 diabetes patients in North America (Diamyd Medical)

Roche, Ipsen Diabetes Drug Meets Goals in Studies
Ipsen, an innovation-driven global specialty pharmaceutical group, today announced that its partner Roche has disclosed headline results of the fourth and fifth of eight T-emerge phase III studies in patients with diabetes for taspoglutide, the first once weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue based on a human sequence (BioSpace)

Metformin for Obesity in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review
Metformin may be efficacious in reducing BMI and insulin resistance among obese hyperinsulinemic children and adolescents in the short term. Larger, long-term studies across different populations are needed to establish the role of metformin as therapy for obesity and cardiometabolic risk in young people (Medscape)

Diabetes prevalence growing disproportionately across nation
The epidemic is most striking in states with high obesity and poverty rates. Focus is urged on preventing the disease rather than simply managing it (Amednews, USA)

Increased hepatic oxidative metabolism distinguishes the action of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor delta from Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor gamma
Although activation of both PPARdelta and PPARgamma lead to increased insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance; PPARdelta activation was functionally distinct from PPARgamma activation, and was characterised by increased hepatic and peripheral fatty acid oxidative metabolism, demonstrating the distinctive catabolic role of this receptor compared with PPARgamma (Genome Medicine)